Walking Reflection
by doombunny13
Summary: Brainiac Five substains a heavy injury, and its problems go farther than just taking the time to heal. You see, something totally unexpected came from something nobody would every think to check twice... Starts dark, but the humor-dosage grows.
1. Blood

**Ummm, I'll get this over with. I DON'T OWN THE LEGION. And never will. Surprise.**

**Woah. First off, I am so freaking sorry I never update. School and all completely limits my freetime. At least half of this story was written in Geometry, where my teacher gets nothing done. Anyways, this story idea came to me out of nowhere; an idea built off another random idea. You may see a connection between this and a comic I created. This chapter is also a tad darker than my usual, and some of the future chapter's will be more humorous. **

**Rated T for violence and possible cursing. **

**You may continue.**

* * *

**Walking Reflection**

Flashing lasers. Burning buildings. Dark clouds of smog littered the sky. He inhaled a small breath only to have to cough it out due to the stinging smoke filling his lungs. The teenager glanced around, eyes watering, to look for his teammates in the ranging chaos.

A flash of blue and red stood out in the corner of his vision. Superman was having some difficulty with the Emerald Empress; doing his best to match her mystical eye's power with his own laser vision.

He turned his attention to the three figures surrounding Validus. An orange, a white, and a purple version of the same girl were throwing punches and kicks at the giant that barely seemed powerful but Triplicate Girl was clearly wearing Validus down.

To her left was Saturn Girl, taking on the large form of the Persuader. She was fog casting mental projections of herself and the enemy was swinging his axe around like a crazy lumberjack in a pine-tree forest.

Brainy seemed to be handling himself perfectly as usual, managing to piss off Mano just by commenting on his primitive tactics. They were fighting on top of one of the many buildings that were currently being threatened of burning to the ground. Suddenly his awareness was ripped from his friends' fights as he felt approaching heat and dodged the electric blast fired at him.

"Most people try to survive their own fights," Tharok said haughtily as he fired another laser at Lightning Lad.

"Well most people don't start fight's that they know they're gonna lose!" Lightning Lad replied as he shot a powerful dose of lightning at the villainous cyborg. Tharok sneered and stood on the ground firing at Lightning Lad who was in the air practically flying in circles.

"Jeeze, you arrogant kids are so sprocking annoying nowadays!" He shouted gruffly as he began to shoot bigger bolts of energy at the flying teen.

Lightning Lad swooped down and landed a kick to Tharok's face that sent him stumbling backwards. Infuriated further, the onslaught of fire increased and Lightning Lad dodged it, feeling smug about not even having to use his actual powers to beat his enemy.

"Why? Because you always get beaten up by a bunch of kids?" He said teasingly, landing in front of Tharok ten feet away.

Suddenly Tharok stopped shooting at him to look at something behind his opponent. He tilted his head as his face broke out in a large smile.

"Oh, would you look at that! I'm not sure that's completely hygienic."

He heard Triplicate Girl cry out and he whipped his head around to the voice. She had a gloved hand over her mouth, the other one pointing at something. After following the finger's direction, he realized why everyone had stopped fighting.

He saw Saturn Girl's face go blank with shock as she noticed the small unmoving figure; he saw Superman's horrified expression as he rushed over to where his friend had crashed to the ground.

And he saw the blood.

Everywhere.

There were bright green splatters standing out on the dark cement like neon paint on a black canvas. Superman was in the way so he couldn't see what was wrong; the only obvious problem was the massive amount of blood. Lightning Lad ran forward.

And then his foot landed on something lying on the ground. He glanced down at his foot, and he almost lost the contents of his stomach.

There on the pavement, laying in a puddle of something bright and wet, was a green hand sporting a cracked Legion ring. But it wasn't _just_ a hand. His eyes followed up past the wrist, past the black lines of the elbow, up to a slim shoulder with a patch of purple and black material shredded on it. It didn't take long for Lightning Lad to notice the unmoving leg still clad in clothing and attached to the arm through a portion of torso.

It wasn't a _piece_ of Brainy, it was a _chunk_ of him.

A chunk of him that was supposed to stay affixed to its owner.

But it wasn't.

He felt nauseous and dizzy as he stumbled over the gruesome remains. Had Lightning Lad been another ordinary person, he would have grabbed the pieces in the hopes of reattaching it, like placing a tooth in milk to place back good as new. But Lightning Lad knew it just didn't work like that…

_O/O_

_They were worn a ragged, figures of fatigue and defeat. Saturn Girl and Phantom Girl were walking ahead, heads bent together as they whispered furiously back and forth._

"_This is his entire fault for not showing up."_

"_You can't blame him, he was probably busy hanging out with his new friend."_

"_Come on, you know that's no excuse for leaving us short a team member when we needed him most."_

"_You're right, but, it's not so terrible," Saturn Girl glanced back in Lightning Lad's direction. "He's doing okay and the fact that he's walking makes him look just fine…"_

"_**Fine? **__Saturn Girl, his arm got blown off! Since when does that get counted as __**fine**__??"_

_Lightning Lad took a moment to look down at his teammate. Brainy was leaning against him, supporting his lost balance by allowing Lightning Lad to act as a tall prop. His right arm ended before his elbow in shredded mass of green skin and wires. The blast that had blown his right arm off had also knocked him unconscious during the battle with the Scavengers. Lightning Lad had taken the initiative to carry the injured Coluan back to headquarters until Brainy had woken up and demanded to be set down from such a "demeaning position". _

_What an ingrate._

_But the strange thing was, he didn't look angry or in pain. If anything, he just looked __**sad**__. Lightning Lad knew he'd be pissed and screaming if he lost his own arm. But the expression of __nonchalance on the little guy's face was just so… pitiful in a weird way. _

" _Hey, I kept your… um, arm, if you need it…" Lightning Lad started, holding the green arm up from his side in an awkward manner. I mean, how do you how do hand a guy his sprocking__** arm**__ back?_

"_I don't need it," he said, not even bothering to look up._

"_But maybe you couldn't reattach it or something…"_

"_No. Once something that large is ripped off, the whole body simply will not accept it back."_

"_So wait, you're telling me you're permanently one-armed??" If only it had been a leg, then he could've been one of those old pirate things…_

"_Of course not," he sighed, obviously agitated from the barrage of stupidity flying his way. "It will regenerate eventually into a new hand." Kind of like a starfish… Lightning Lad did not say the comparison out loud, but simple mused to himself about how funny the mental images of Brainy as a starfish were. Then something clicked in his mind._

"_Hold on, you're gonna go handicapped in battles until it grows back?" The mental theater returned, this time with a midget Brainy trying to do one his fancy backflips and falling off-balanced to his face._

"_It won't take that long. It was only my lower arm; it will be regrowing any time now. You won't have to wait on it."_

"_Who said I was waiting," Lightning Lad said as a grin grew across his face. "Maybe the look will catch on." _

_O/O_

Lightning Lad shook his head to the present. This was not the same. This was too far wrong; too much blood, too much _missing._ He didn't want to acknowledge it, but he turned back to the unmoving figure no longer lying completely on the ground.

Superman had wrapped the small Coluan in his red cape that was now showing dark spots blooming on the left side. Their friend's wide eyes were dark and lifeless, staring unblinkingly into the smoking sky. An expression of surprise was frozen on his face, and he looked like he could jump up at any moment and command that he be told why almost half of him was resting 20 meters away.

But the eyes didn't flicker, the body didn't move; it remained limp in Superman's arms.

And the Man of Steel was on his knees shaking. _Shaking_. Whether it be from anger or distress, it was a terrible sign. The last thing they needed was for the Invincible Man to lose it. Lightning Lad leaned over and placed a gloved hand on his shoulder.

"Hey Clark," he said gently, "you should probably take him to the medical bay."

The dark haired head bobbed in a short nod, and with a small 'whoosh' and a blend of colors, the person under his hand was gone along with the boy in the cape. He looked towards the Legion HQ and hoped that someone would be there to help show Superman how to use all of the complex futuristic technology.

"I ASKED WHY YOU SPROCKING DID IT!"

The Triplicate Girls were interrogating Mano, the only member of the Fatal Five that had not been able to flee. Two of them were holding his arms with a fierce death grip while Purple stood in the middle, hands on her hips, looking as if she was capable of slicing and dicing the villain with just her glare. Lava-lamp-head simple stood there, laughing, like he was laughing at death in the face.

"I told you. I was told to chop the bothersome kid up! Pushing him off the building was my idea though; adds a nice touch to these boring streets..." Orange punched his lights out before Purple could kill him. They all looked at Saturn Girl who appeared lost in thought.

"He's not lying. The weird thing about it though is I can't bring up who sent the entire Fatal Five to take out… one of us."

"Do you think someone erased it?" White asked worriedly. "It could have been Esper and the Legion of Super-villain's again."

"I just don't know," Saturn Girl said quietly as her eyes wandered to the cracked legion ring on the ground. A heavy gloom fell, a curtain on an unfinished act.

"I just don't know."

* * *

**Mmmmmmmmm… green blood… yum. Lightning Lad's POV. I've never done that before. When people review, it gives me a little help/push to write and I love to hear from you guys! (But I won't be furious or anything if you don't)**


	2. Missing

**Let me check… nope. Still don't own the Legion.**

**HAZZAH folks! It's been decided, I'm only going to be able to post every month or so (more or less) because of my ridiculous schedule. I hate that, but please bear with me. But goodness, I love this chapter. Nostalgic and random comedy rolled into one, and it's 8 FREAKIN PAGES instead of the usual 4. Lucky you!**

**I'll have you know, it is physically impossible to have a story with Brainy and Supes, keep them to their characters/personalities, and NOT end up with a tad of Superman/Brainy. It just ISN'T POSSIBLE. Not my fault.**

**Rated T for violence and possible cursing. **

* * *

So that was it. Brainy was in the hospital with everyone promising some sort of recovery, and all Clark had to do was wait.

Waiting's a whole lot damn harder than it looks.

He was pacing fiercely in the small corridor outside of the medical bay. It had become routine; he would come to see if anything had changed and the disappointment would leave him sitting by his friend's side in a small plastic chair. Then he would linger in the whitewashed hallway, just in case something happened. When nothing did, he would return to his "daily-saving-the-world-business".

But he would come back every day.

Just in case.

"_Just in case of what?"_

Superman spun around to see Saturn Girl giving him a worn look. He placed a warm hand on the pane of glass separating the hallway from the hospital room.

"I don't know. It might be like last time. You know, when it all grows back at once?"

"Clark, this time… isn't like last time. It's going to be a while before he gets enough energy to wake up and… fix it all." She shook he head sullenly and he knew he was not the only one worried out of his mind, which brought him back to what was beyond the thick glass.

Brainy's side was showing no change, and there was no sign of anything in the arm or leg. They had closed those ghastly dark eyes that had stared emptily into space and he was currently hooked up to so many machines Clark had to remind himself who was fixing who.

"Has it ever been this bad?"

Her reflection's silence in the glass told him the answer without uttering a word. It brought the heavy guilt back out of his conscience.

"I should have been there! If I had, this- this wouldn't have happened!" It was physically impossible for him to forget the other night. Everything seemed to be going so well and then-

A steady hand was placed on his shoulder and wrenched his attention back to the present.

"Clark. No one could have done anything. You have got to realize you can't save everyone."

"But I-"

"Superman. Come on. Lightning Lad wants you to help the investigation. It's the best thing you can do to help Brainy right now." Saturn Girl gave him a pleading look. She seemed so desperate to distract his mind from the horrible present.

Ah.

So Brainy wasn't the only one she was worried about. Giving her the best smile he could find himself able to hold on his face, he nodded slowly after stealing a last look at the hospital bed's occupant. He then flew back out of the corridor, but not before seeing her composure crumple as she turned her own attention to Brainy.

He prayed for Brainy's recovery and Saturn Girl's emotional health, but could not help but to notice that his hands had gone cold despite the hot anger growing in his chest.

Whoever was responsible… whoever had the audacity to go that far… they wouldn't have a prayer.

* * *

Superman arrived slightly late due to his choice to walk on the littered streets instead of using his super speed and flight. When he took a minute to shake off the tension building in his legs, he caught sight of Lightning Lad standing in the middle of scattered and abandoned debris holding a large data-pad. Currently the redhead was yelling at some curious science-police officers and was tapping furiously on the screen in his hand.

Clark felt his stomach clench.

Brainy always led the investigations.

Brainy was always the one who stood scowling at the information presented by the data-pad as he calculated possible motives and plausible solutions.

Brainy always attempted to explain his complex theories about a case even if he knew that they weren't listening.

Problems were always solved in that succession.

Always.

But not today. Today the figure of the small green boy was missing from the scene, leaving what he would have deemed "monkey-brained organisms" to do the analyzing.

Lightning Lad finally glanced up from the data-pad. His grimace lessened and his mood visually lightened when he noticed the Man of Steel waiting off to the side.

"Hey 'Supes! Took you long enough!"

"Sorry, I decided to take the long way." He gave Lightning Lad a small smile that was returned with added enthusiasm.

"Well, we'd better get a move on," Lightning Lad said as he walked away and motioned Superman to follow. "The battle aftermath is a few blocks away; I didn't want the science police interfering with it, so I debriefed them back there."

Superman felt his heart sink. The area they were in before didn't seem so bad; he was hoping that was the "scene of the crime". Apparently not. They walked in a tense silence before his teammate turned the corner and they came to the place Clark wanted to be the least.

Everything that he remembered from that night came back unwillingly, and the deserted street only looked more morbid in the daylight than it had in the dark. The post-battle results were very apparent; Saturn Girl did always say that the Legion constantly causes a wreck where ever it went. There were myriad pieces of rubble cluttering the streets, huge chunks of abandoned buildings smashed into the ground, and some of the still standing buildings presented scorch marks on the sides.

But that wasn't the worst of it.

The blood hadn't washed away. It was still there, staining the pavement as fresh as green paint. And most of it was in one spot: right next to a tall metallic building; all of it surrounding a small dent in the concrete. That was where Brainy had crashed to the ground.

In pieces.

The memories made him sick. When he had seen the small figure lying on the ground, he wasn't that worried. He had thought that the young genius would hop right back up, brush himself off, and deny any offered help concerning his opponent; like he always did.

That was before he had gotten close enough to see.

Or more like _not_ see. Because it had been what wasn't there, what was missing, that had been so horrible to look at.

It had taken everything in Superman's will not to burst into flames. He bet he could if he tried hard enough. And that was nothing like the one other time Brainy had "died". That time, Brainy had told Superman directly that he was trapped in the system and his body was left behind. Superman had known what he was doing; he had time to prepare himself for the "loss".

But that time was different. Brainy hadn't been totally ripped apart then. This time, there was no warning, no "backup" for a broken body.

"That's weird."

Clark turned. Lightning Lad was standing a few feet away with one hand on his hip and the other in his rusty-red hair. He was staring intently at a spot in the ground by a blotch of dried green.

"What'd you mean?"

"It's probably just me but," Lightning Lad said tersely as his hand lowered to point at the green splatters, "I could've sworn Brainy's- I mean, some pieces of evidence were over here." Clark looked back between Lightning Lad and where he was pointing before stating the obvious.

"But now they're missing."

"Yeah, I know. Stupid science police moving things around before we can get a good look."

Superman felt differently. He didn't think he could stand looking at (as what Lightning Lat had tried to explain the other day) a chunk of his friend. Not just lying on the streets. He looked up to ask Lightning Lad if they were done to find that his friend was headed to the top of the building by the crater. Clark followed with a twinge of foreboding in the back of his mind.

They reached the top and landed softly on the flat roof. Superman walked around, but he didn't see anything in particular about the place, just rubble and destruction like everywhere else. Then he heard Lightning Lad's heart skip a beat.

"What is it?"

"It's nothing."

Superman tried to find Lightning Lad and the "nothing". He walked around looking and listening for a sign.

"I know your lying. Super-hearing, remember?"

"Oh, right. Forgot about tha- crap!"

Superman had quickly followed the voice to find Lightning Lad standing by a large billboard. The billboard showed a cheesy looking pop-star grinning wildly while holding a shiny toothbrush. Realizing his mistake, Lightning Lad tried to grab Superman's arm.

"No you don't want to look over there-"

But Clark was already on the other side of the billboard, and what he saw was not a picture of a toothpaste ad.

That side of the billboard was shredded and he could clearly see that the bottom post was melted, probably from something acidic. But it was the small clump of material that caught his attention. There, snagged on the edge, was a torn tattered piece of purple and black fabric, which stood out strongly against the massive amount of green plastered to the sign.

"I told you not to look."

Superman looked at Lightning Lad, who wasn't looking at him but rather at the billboard.

"Do you think that _this_ is what…" Clark looked back to the sinister billboard.

"Mano _did_ say something about a sign, but this…" He gestured to the billboard and they stared at it in silence. Finally, Lightning Lad broke his gaze away and focused it on Clark.

"Well then. I'd say we've had enough of this stuff. Let's go back to HQ and see if we can get Timberwolf to make us some cookies again."

Superman nodded and grinned inwardly at the thought of Timberwolf getting caught cooking with an apron on again, but hung back for a minute after Lightning Lad took off.

If- no, _when_ he woke up, Brainy was going to find out who was behind this.

And Superman was going to tear them to pieces.

* * *

Floating. That's what it felt like. And it was dark… or was it empty? Was he in a vacuum? That was illogical, because there were noises, and a vacuum did not supply any particles of matter to send the vibrations of sound.

The noises grew and seemed to echo in the nothingness; how irrational. Something was wrong.

But he couldn't move.

He didn't know how long he was suspended immobile there, wherever _there_ was. It must have been a few hours. Maybe more.

And he heard things; whispers of wishes that became gabbled in the space. Nothing made any sense.

_Don't die_

_Get better_

_They'll pay _

_We miss you_

_Hold on_

_Don't die_

_I'm sorry_

_It's my fault_

_Come back_

_I miss you_

_**Don't die**_

_Wake up_

Wake up.

And that's when he felt that pain. It was a searing knife in his side, a flaming infection in his arm, a stinging sensation in his leg. And there was so much sprocking light. He shut his eyes immediately and waited for the spots in his vision to subside. This time, he opened his eyes slightly to the brightness. All he could see was a white ceiling and a hanging light. There were sounds of clinking machines and computers in the background.

He tried to push himself up with his hands to see more of his surroundings only to realize that his right arm was not responding. He tried to move his fingers. Nothing moved. Puzzled, he shifted his head to his right.

Oh.

His right arm didn't move because he didn't _have_ a right arm.

That complicated things.

He faced the ceiling for a second time as he began searching for possible explanations for his current status. The Legion had been fighting the bothersome Fatal Five yet again… They were fighting in the 27th Northern District, each individual facing off a single opponent... Mano had been obnoxious as usual, hissing about this and that, how the "all powerful" Fatal Five was sure to win because of some "amazing" plan (obviously mostly unknown to Mano)…

It all seemed quite hazy, which explained the dull ache in the base of his skull. He reached deeper into the blank part of his memory.

There had been a laugh, and it hadn't been Mano's. He distinctly remembered that deep chuckle, quiet as it had been. And there was a creaking groan of distressed metal… he had been looking the other way… and then everything was warm and wet. Finally, the last thing he could bring up was the sensation of falling before the memories clinked to a halt.

So, based on the data brought up from his subconscious, he concluded that something sharp and metallic (most likely that injudicious placed billboard) had sliced straight into him, and then due to lack of energy and substantial blood loss, his systems had shut down to preserve maximum potential for recovery.

That did not, however, change the fact his arm was missing. It was still, it seemed, going to take more time for enough energy to build up for the regeneration process to complete.

At the moment he was attached to numerous medical tubes and mechanical devices. His side must have recently regenerated because there was a raw feeling accumulating in that area and, looking back at the shredded mass of what used to be his shoulder, he also noticed the absence of a right leg.

Leg, side, arm; how much did he have to grow back?

Perturbed but unshaken by the recent revelations, he moved himself to an upright sitting position and had to close his eyes in a wince from the jolting pain it sent down his spine. He opened them and had to reach up with his remaining hand to brush away the blonde hair in his face.

Then he froze.

The average rate of hair growth for a human is one-half of an inch per month. Coluan hair, as far as he was concerned, grew at a rate twice as fast.

Holding a strand in between his thumb and forefinger, he noted his hair was exactly an inch longer then he always kept it. An _inch_.

How long had he been unresponsive?

How long had he worried his friends?

How much pain did he put them through?

He heard a small scuffle on the floor. Going rigid, he slowly turned to his left.

Sitting quietly on a small white plastic chair was a lanky teen who obviously had not had the time, or possibly the memory, to change out of his unorthodox red and blue clothing.

Of course Superman would forget to change; he was always too busy worrying about everyone else.

The dark curly haired head went back as his teammate and friend simultaneously yawned and stretched his arms above his head. After cracking a few cramped joints, Superman slouched and blinked drearily, staring straight at one unmoving Coluan with a heavy sleep filling his eyes.

A second went by.

Another one.

Another one.

And then he saw the mouth open in a wide "O", but it omitted no audible sound; he saw his friend's eyes widen with the shock you would expect to see one experience from witnessing a ghost; and he saw him crash backwards when the chair tipped over in Clark's attempt to stand. The loud thud seemed to stir Brainy from his stupor and he too tried to stand to help his fallen teammate.

Naturally, this became one of Brainy's few bad ideas, as it dawned on him after he aimed to take a step that he only had one leg.

So he immediately fell forwards, completely out of balance, and landed smack on his face.

Lightning Lad was _never_ going to find out about this. Never.

Superman's face peaked out behind the fallen chair with an expression of pure and utter shock. It looked as if his face would break from the strain of deciding whether to laugh or cry, possible both.

Brainy lifted his head from its undignified meeting with the floor with an expression that could mean anything from "I'm thinking of all the possible ways I could have avoided this, and they all include not being a complete idiot" to "I'd rather be in hell".

This killed whatever restrain Superman had previously possessed and he burst into outrageous laughter, unable to get up and help Brainy because he was preoccupied with rolling on the floor. A small smile broke across the blonde's face.

It was good to be back.

* * *

**His hair grew an INCH?? Well then, we must break out the emergency scissors! But really, a foot or something would have been more dramatic but…**

**Superman would've noticed and took it upon himself to cut it**

**Brainy would've had to have been unconscious for a year**

**And it just wouldn't be as entertaining as Brainy freaking out about an extra inch of hair (he's more unnerved about the hair then the missing leg…)**

**Next chapter will bring the beginning of the actual comedy part. I like to hear from you amazingly cool readers!**


	3. Normal

**What's that? I don't own the Legion? That's news to me… **

**Well my little readers, seems to me I finished this chapter slightly early (whoa that's weird.) Don't know how, but it's right here. Tadaaaaaaaa!**

**I just have to thank all of you commenters, watchers, and supporters. You're the ones driving my creativity, and every comment and such brings a smile to my face. YOU ARE ALL SO FREAKING WONDERFUL –throws out kudos- You're that awesome. Hopefully this will quench your fic-craving for a while. **

**Rated T for violence and possible cursing. **

* * *

He had to admit, it had been a stressful month. Between waiting for Brainy to recover and keeping the Legion from collapsing on itself, he had almost cracked under the pressure.

But then again, he was known for being able to bounce back.

"Hey Trip, you gonna eat that?"

Triplicate Girl looked at him with an eyebrow raised. Well, eyebrow**s**; all three of them.

"Six pieces of pizza not enough, huh Bouncy?" He did his best to look as if he were considering the possibility right before his stomach made a loud growling sound.

"Nope. Besides, it's to build up my strength." He grabbed the last slice from the opened pizza box lying in the middle of the table. He snarfed it down in one gulp before belching loudly, receiving wholehearted claps from Orange, giggles from White, and a whine from Purple.

"That is _so_ gross."

Bouncing Boy simply smiled, relieved that things were once again back to normal. It was just great to hang out in the lounge with friends eating pizza without worrying about yesterday's misfortune and tomorrow's uncertainties. Trip brought up the current problem with the Legion HQ's sprinkler system and that led them to chat about basically anything. He enjoyed the laid-back moments, the time he could squeeze in between missions and practice.

Then time passed; Triplicate Girl had to go on a small reconnaissance mission with Ferro Lad and he had to work on his battle strategies. He waved goodbye and headed down the hallway to the Simulation Chamber. It was a long walk. Long walks make Chuck's mind wander.

He wondered how it was possible for everything to return to the usual when their friend had almost _died_. Like _dead_. Like not _alive_. Every time he tried to picture the Legion without Brainy it was like trying to picture the Legion without a brain. No pun intended.

Brainy didn't die though. When Bouncing Boy walked into the lounge to get a soda a week ago, the last thing he had expected to find was half the Legion surrounding the familiar form of their small Coluan friend as they hugged and patted the back of the insouciant teen. Bouncing Boy had then of course jumped in to take part in the unintentional welcome-back party, receiving an undeserved death-glare when he asked Brainy about how he woke up. He'd ask Superman later…

Point was, it was a week after that day and all of Brainy's limbs had regenerated after restoring a "substantial amount of energy". He had asked Brainy why it took as long as it did for him to wake from the coma… That was stupid. **Rule #3 **of surviving the Legion: _Never_ ask Brainiac Five for details on _anything_. You're just asking for a headache.

And life moved on. Everyone was smiling, Cosmic Boy returned to his grumbling, Brainy was back in his lab, and Phantom Girl reverted back to complaining about the "atrocious" meatloaf served on Mondays.

Bouncing Boy could not help but let his face sink into a growing grin. He stuck his hands in his pockets and began whistling that catchy tune from his latest old-movie.

Everything was back to normal.

Everyday orthodox conventional normal.

A small amount of green walking past caught his eye. Brainy obviously had something to do outside of his lab, for once. You could lock that kid up in a lab for days and he probably wouldn't notice.

"How's it going Brainy?" No response. Typical of Brainy to ignore his teammate when he was so engrossed in his work. Maybe it was the yellow scarf that was throwing him off but-

Bouncing Boy did a double-take. He had to blink a few times after that too.

He could have sworn his eyes were lying. But there Brainy was, walking down the hallway wearing a bright yellow and white striped scarf around his neck. His shoes did not match in the slightest; one was pink-and-black checkerboard patterned while its "pair" was covered in blue-and-white stripes. Not to be outdone, his pants resembled a flat quilt; a mismatched combination of colors and shapes as contradictory as night and day. Only _much_ more colorful.

And to top it all off, for some God-only-knows reason, he wasn't wearing a shirt.

He couldn't think of anyone would be caught dead wearing that, let alone Mr. Perfectly-Organized-and-Sensible. Chuck vowed there was no way he'd survive any upcoming nightmares about this and he would bet his entire collection of old classics that hell had just frozen over, and it was all Brainy's fault.

"What _happened_ to you??"

At the sound of the random outburst, Brainy turned wildly to look at him with a bewildered expression written on his face and looked left and right. He pointed a slim green finger at his own face.

"Me?"

_Who else would he be talking to?_

"Uhhh…. Yeah? What I want to know is why your clothes are all…weird," Bouncing boy said as he tried to grasp the right words to describe what he was seeing.

"Oh." The puzzled kid looked down at his fashion-nightmare of an outfit. "What do you mean?"

"Like what happened to your… normal clothes."

"I- I think they were stolen." Brainy looked away in clear embarrassment.

_God, another crazy fan-girl theft_. One of these days Bouncing Boy was going to make fan-girls illegal... somehow.

"What about the ton of spares you have?" He pointed in the direction of Brainy's room.

"Spares? Oh… well then…"

Brainy turned and ran back down the hall towards his room while saying a faint _"thanks"_ to Bouncing Boy. Whatever that was all about, Chuck wasn't sure he wanted to know.

He proceeded to the Simulation Chamber. Once he was there, he did a few short checks to make sure that the sims were going to work without a hitch. Fifteen minutes later he was standing in the center of the Chamber ready to go for a first solo round when Brainy walked past the wide doors to the room. A smile grew on Bouncing Boy's face.

"Hey Brainy! Good to see you're wearing clothes!"

Brainy stopped dead in his tracks. Data-pad still in hand, he looked up from whatever was on it to look at Bouncing Boy with a quite interesting mix of shock and skepticism on his face.

"Why, might I inquire, _wouldn't _I be wearing clothes?"

"Well earlier you were dressed all funny in the scarf and everything…"

Brainy's eyes narrowed further and he turned back to his data-pad as he continued walking, muttering something about removing the caffeine refreshments from the lounge.

After staring after the Coluan for a minute, Bouncing Boy shrugged and started the simulation.

It couldn't get any weirder.

* * *

Oh but it could. And it did.

After a few hours that seemed like a lifetime in the Simulation Chamber, Bouncing Boy went on a short check-up shift in the Southwest district with Lightning Lad. They conversed on light subjects like the weather and swapped stories on Simulation Chamber explosions.

"…And I mean, it wasn't my fault the Sim Chamber doesn't have a fire-extinguisher," he explained to Lightning Lad. "Brainy practically threw a fit; Timber wolf had blown up the kitchen that day too."

"Speaking of which, have you seen Brainy today?" The question reminded Chuck of his earlier encounter.

"Sort of. Why do you ask?"

"It's just," Lightning Lad began as he flew a small cat down from a tree, "I saw him in Cosmic Boy's document office. He was making _paper airplanes_ and throwing them around the room."

Bouncing Boy creased his forehead as he tried to create the appropriate mental-imagery. It was impossible, unless Brainy had gone crazy again, which was not for another three years.

"Did you ask him why?"

"Heck no! I was to busy running in the opposite direction in case the universe exploded."

"Oh. Good thinking."

They were both smiling and Lightning Lad handed the mewing cat back to the old lady in the purple shawl. Giving her a wave and complementary autograph, they headed back to the headquarters.

"You look a little stressed Bouncy. You have time for a soda or two in the lounge?"

Bouncing Boy chuckled.

"I'll pick up a pack on the way." _A soda or two._ Right.

After a quick visit to the store, Lightning Lad and Bouncing Boy decided to take the normal way for a change and took the front entrance. Ever since the flight-rings ad been invented most of the Legion simply flew to the top. They took the elevator up the tall building; watching the small numbers of the floors light up at a speed most civilians would call alarming. Of course the lounge had to be at the top floor, but it was worth a forgotten experience.

"Dude! I didn't even remember _having_ an elevator!"

A final few flashes; the elevator lurched to a stop.

_DING_

The doors slid open smoothly to reveal the common shade of gray on the walls. He had only taken a step out of the elevator before he heard an all too familiar voice. Turning in the direction of it he glimpsed Brainiac Five disappearing around a corner. Bouncing Boy's staring was interrupted by Lightning Lad's astonished question.

"Was that…?"

"Yup."

"And he was….?"

"Mmmhm."

"But… that's just… it's not… ARGG!!!"

Lightning Lad's hands clutched his head and he stared, still shocked, at the corner of the hallway.

It wasn't every day you saw Brainiac Five skipping down a hallway. Actually it might have been the first day in the history of mankind. He had been singing an old "Broadway" show tune as well. Make it a first in the history of the sprocking universe.

"This is going to take more soda."

"Yup."

They walked dazed to the lounge with the pack of soda in hand. Once the two teens arrived they were greeted by an excited Phantom Girl.

"Ohmigoshyouguysdidyouseebrainytoday??!!"

"Whoa, slow down," Lightning Lad said as Bouncing boy plopped the pack of soda onto an empty table.

"What asked was," she started with a sigh caused by the two's inability to understand he fast words, "if you guys had seen Brainy today. Have you?" The two boys exchanged knowing glances.

"What did he do now," Lightning Lad said in something close to exasperation.

"So like, I went to the kitchen that Timberwolf always cooks in right? But he's not there. Instead, guess who was pigging out on fresh chocolate-chip cookies?"

"No freaking way," Bouncing Boy avowed, "Brainy absolutely _hates_ those things."

"Yeah," Lightning Lad added, "he says hasn't had the time to test them for poison, or something…"

The three teens stood still in thought, the only sound breaking the silence was the occasional slurp of soda.

First the whole clothing issue, the playing in Cosmic Boy's office, the skipping, the singing, the cookies…

What was going on?

"Sounds like a mystery to me," Bouncing Boy prompted and chuckled. "You get the magnified glass and I'll get the hounds."

"What are you talking about," Phantom Girl asked quizzically.

"We'll sniff out whatever drug Brainy's on, old-school style," he explained excitedly.

"And that would be…?"

"The detective approach, like Sherlock Holmes!"

"Shamrock-_who_?"

"The fictional detective from the late nineteenth century, who, you know, solved mysteries and-" he looked at his friends' questioning and confused looks.

"-oh, never mind…"

This is why he tried to get them to watch the old movies with him. Now most of his jokes were total flat-liners. Can't miss the classics.

"Anyways, let's just go and check up on him. In the lab, of course," briskly offered Bouncing Boy. He'd have to explain old detective movies some other time. Phantom Girl and Lightning Lad nodded and they strode to Brainy's lab with a purpose: to find out what the sprock was going on.

On the short walk there, they bumped into Saturn Girl, who said something was bothering her thoughts. After hearing what her teammates had to say, she was too intruded to do anything but join them.

They reached the end of the hallway which had the large metallic door of the humongous lab of their small green friend. But currently, he was outside of it, standing stiffly on the left reading a small data-pad.

Bouncing Boy was about to call out to him when a portion of the door hissed open and _another_ Brainy stepped out to look scornfully at his annoying comrades. Bouncing Boy inhaled his soda up his nose and tried not to choke.

"What do you want now?" coolly asked the new Brainy, who now stood directly to the right of the… other Brainy.

A few thoughts bustled to the front of Chuck's mind.

_No more soda for me._

_And no more drugs for Brainy._

This was the weirdest crap since the muffin conspiracy with the homicidal taxidermists.

Suddenly the two Brainiac Fives seemed to notice each other. The one on the left had his mouth opened in a small "o" and tilted his head as if looking at a malfunctioning mirror. The one on the right looked offhandedly at its reflection; eyes widening in surprised before they narrowed into an unhappy scowl. He then acknowledged his scientific opinion on the dilemma.

"Oh _**hell**_ no."

* * *

**Oh hell YES.**

**Goodness, what a cliffy. I'm going to try to catch up with New Beginnings and the next chapter for this should be quite long, so don't expect the 4****th**** chapter to be soon. Sorry for the inconvenience! (I'm like a broken theme-park ride now….)**

**PLEASE READ: Just out of common courtesy, I would like to ask that if you have a good guesses at the future plot/details of this fic, that you don't blurt it out in comments. I'm not angry or anything, it just might ruin the surprise for others. Thank you.**

_**-Doom**_


	4. Colors

**I don't own the superheroes or their powers…. yada yada yada…**

**I'm not sure what to say exactly. Maybe something along the lines of "DON'T KILL ME", because I took so long to write this. I had a terrible case of writer's block, not to mention a complete overdose of homework and such. I'm so sorry! Hope you didn't eat your foot off in anticipation… and if you did, don't sue me.**

**Secondly, I love you people. **_**Seriously**_**. You actually commented! You actually waited! You actually cracked a joke about Scotland Yard! I had no idea that this story would develop into something relatively stable, and that's all thanks to you.**

**(P.S. Want to see some sketches from last chapter? Go to: http :// doombunny13 .deviantart. com/ art/ StoryBoard-Sketches-I-103031253 and fix the spaces when you paste the address.)**

**Rated T for violence and possible cursing. **

* * *

)

"To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all."

_-Oscar Wilde _

)

_**Sixteen Days Earlier…**_

He was here, or there, or wherever he was. He did not know who he was, where he was, what he was, or even _why_ he was; he just knew he was someone present in a realistic state of being. Alive, but exhausted.

He opened his eyes and saw the vast blue expanse above him with a blinding white light glaring golden rays of warmth onto him head.

The sun and the sky. _Yes, that's what it is._

He felt a smile grow on his face. The sun greeted his existence with the curtain of light and heat, and it was then he decided he rather liked the sun. He would simply stay where he was and let it fill him to the brim with… whatever sun was supposed to fill you with.

For a while he simply felt comfortable just being with his newfound sun. There were myriad noises merging around him; beepings and whooshings and chatter, with the slightest hint of rushing wind. But words stood out as well, piercing the lullaby of cluttered sound.

"Look over here!"

"What is it?"

"I don't know. Do you think it's… dead?"

"Maybe. Hey, we don't want to get involved, let's leave before WAIT DON'T-"

A scuffle of feet, a feeling of movement, and then there was a face with wide green eyes staring straight down at his own. The face was blocking his sun. He blinked.

The person reeled back in surprise and let out a small squeak. It seemed to be a young girl. Suddenly an older boy was next to her but had his attention focused on him. _Why is he staring at me?_ He looked to the side and saw a smooth green arm and sharply contrasting black strips at his joints.

He thought about wiggling the fingers. To his enjoyment, they did just that. He clenched and unclenched both his fists. Same with his toes. Being able to move was a grand discovery, and he found himself standing up just to do so. He then turned his focus to the two others standing a few meters away.

The owner of the face, the young girl, was around four and a half feet tall. She wore a tight tan-with-white-trim long-sleeved shirt, a frilly knee length brown skirt, and a pair of ordinary tan shoes. Her blond hair was pulled into two low pigtails held by white ribbons and her hair fell vaguely past her shoulders. But what really held his attention were her eyes. They were still wide in either shock or excitement and they were bright shades of green that radiated curiosity.

The boy on her right was different. He was a little less than five and a half feet tall and wore simple garments; a black tank top under an open white collared shirt with black pants. Streaks of sandy highlights ran through short wavy tawny hair. Despite all the differences, he felt that the two were connected because of the same green eyes.

"Y-you're… alive."

The brunette boy looked at him with a confused look. The stranger's statement only brought a tingle to somewhere in his chest.

"Yes. I am alive."

The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them, but it felt good to say it out loud; that he was alive. The girl was giggling with her hand over her mouth. She lifted the other hand to point a small finger in his direction.

"You're not wearing any clothes," she observed with more suppressed giggles. Looking down, he realized she was correct; though he failed see the issue.

The boy next to the girl, on the other hand, did seem to be unsettled by the lack of clothes. He coughed and placed a hand over the little girl's transfixed eyes.

"Geez Hearth. It's called _modesty_," he said tensely to the younger child. He twisted back to the boy.

"So… are you, um, okay?"

"I'm just wonderful! It's a beautiful day, but it is a bit chilly."

"Well, that may have something to due with the whole no-clothes thing."

"That would make sense."

Silence followed. The girl had stopped giggling and was trying to escape the boy's grasp. The boy looked around and turned back to him concerned.

"Do you need help?"

"Hmmmm… not that I know of." The boy stared at him, his eyebrows slanted together forming a crease between them.

"Just who are you?"

Slowly his smile faded. He didn't know. Was he supposed to know? An unpleasant cold spread in his stomach. Who was he?

"I don't know."

That caused the eyebrows to furrow even closer together. The girl had stopped struggling and was trying to listen to the conversation.

"You don't know? Okay… where do you live then?"

"Not sure. I guess I'd like to live here under the sky and its sun. Wouldn't that be lovely? I think it would." He very much liked the idea of staying here. He also enjoyed saying "lovely", and planned on using the word whenever he could.

"Out in the open? Are you sure you're alright?"

The more he thought about it, the more he felt as if something was indeed wrong. Just a tease in the back of his mind, but it bothered him.

"Maybe. I don't know. I don't seem to know a lot right now."

"Did you lose your memory?" This time it was the little girl who spoke up. He looked at her even though he knew she couldn't see him.

"I guess so. Is that bad?" He felt the gap in his memories, as if it had been painted over with blank white. The girl's mouth formed a small frown as if in thought.

"Brother…"

"No Hearth! Mom would kill us!"

"But Keirk, he's lost. We should help him!"

"You can't just go around helping random strangers-"

"I can if I want."

"Can not."

"Can to!"

"We don't have time-"

"If you don't help, Ima gonna tell Mom about what you _really_ did last Friday, _Keirkmire_.

The boy looked between his pouting sister and the standing green boy. After weighing his options, he reached into a large backpack and brought forth a pair of smaller jeans. After he walked over to give them to him and the small green boy struggled to get them on, he slipped off his white shirt and buttoned it on the boy. The jeans were rather large on the previously nude boy, but he found it quite comfortable. The elder boy stood with just his black tee and pants and measured him with his eyes.

"So you don't know who you are,"

"Yep."

"You don't know where you're from,"

"No clue."

"And you just woke up on the street naked without any idea how you got there?"

"Basically."

The girl ran over, pigtails bouncing, to him and grasped his green hand and pulled him in a random direction. The boy let himself be led by the happy girl and looked back at the older boy who just sighed in displeasure and followed the pair.

"I didn't do anything on Friday… just went out for some fun…. How would she know…" He continued to grumble while his sister rambled to her victim.

"…and I like the color pink, but Margret likes the color purple, so we decided to paint the dog orange instead. Do you like colors? I like colors. What your favorite color," she said in a rapid procession. He decided that he could not choose. When he told her, she informed him his favorite color should be pink, because pink was "just cool that way".

Though her rambling, he discovered that the small girl's name was Hearth and she was ten, while her older brother went by Keirk and was sixteen. Besides the one-sided conversation, he was completely engrossed by the changing scenery. There were tall silver buildings, speeding vehicles that whizzed through the air, huge bulletin boards, and flashing, even with it being day, neon signs. Sometimes when he thought about what something was, details and information would crack into his mind like dropping books. He did not understand why, only that it brought him the thing he had the least of: knowledge.

Hearth, who seemed to have noticed his absolute wonder of the city, asked again if he really didn't remember the city. When he responded no, she clapped her hands and said, "Then me and Brother can show you around tomorrow!" He heard her brother shout from behind them.

"No we won't! We're going to go home, give him some clothes, and show him the closest police station."

"You think these "police" will be able to help me?" the green boy asked.

"The Police always know what to do," the girl said knowingly. "They stop bad-guys from doing bad things; but not big bad things, 'cause that's for the _Legion_." She said the last part with what he detected as a hint of longing.

"What's a legion," he asked the girl. Her jaw dropped in shock.

"Not _a_ legion, _the_ Legion. The Legion of Superheroes."

"Superheroes."

"Yeah," she said with added enthusiasm, "like Superman and Lightning Pants!"

"It's Lightning _Lad, _and how can you expect him to know who the Legion is if he doesn't even know his own _name?_" Keirk shouted from behind, but the girl took no notice and carried on as if he had not spoken.

"See that?" She pointed a small finger in the direction of a tall white tower with a large "L" on the front. "That's their hideout place. They save people from stuff like bad-guys and big problems."

He looked at the tower with the large "L" and found it startling familiar. Looking down at his right hand he saw it; the gold ring with the same "L" on it, completely the same except for smaller and his ring had a large crack running through the middle. He was about to ask her about it when she started up again.

"I haven't seen them all, but once I got saved by Superman when our house burned down and it was really cool…" she trailed off, seemingly lost in thought.

"Your house burned down?" he asked Hearth with a newfound emotion; concern.

"Yeah, but it's okay. We live in a smaller apartment now, right by the park."

He was unsure about what he should feel about the loss of the girl's home, but the question was lightly brushed aside when he saw huge brown textured irregular columns rise from the ground that were topped with a wide rang of rustling green. Trees.

There was a small path winding through the trees that began under a large sign that read "NEW METROPOLIS CENTRAL PARK" across the worn surface. It was not until after they crossed under the sign that he noticed the extroverted green carpet of grass littered with flowers; the couples sitting under trees on blankets; the children of all kinds running and laughing as they chased small animals up into trees; the little old lady sitting on a bench feeding pigeons.

"The park's always nice on Saturday afternoons."

He turned to see Keirk next to him gazing at the natural scene, looking more… peaceful. Looking over at Hearth, he saw the same relaxed posture set in, though she looked more likely to go chase squirrels herself.

"What's the park for?" he asked Keirk, simply musing to himself.

"The park? For the people, I guess," he replied casually. "The duck pond's over there, and that's a statue of New Metropolis's founder." Keirk pointed to different areas and the green boy searched the park with his own eyes, catching sight of the lake and stone man on a pedestal. It was also when he saw the _things_.

They were round ovals, each one a different color. They were each tied by a string attached to the bottom and they seemed weightless, possible less than that of the air. A large man with a curly mustache was smiling and held the ends of the strings. He found the things so fascinating that he had stopped to stare at them longer.

Hearth, who was a substantial amount ahead of him with her brother, finally became aware of his absence and ran back to hi. Then she looked back and forth between the green boy and his eyes' intense focus as a grin spread across her small features.

"So you like balloons, huh?"

"Balloons?" he said absentmindedly without taking his eyes off of them.

"Mmmmhm. They're all rubbery and stuff but they can pop and sometimes fly away." Something she said clicked in his mind and for some reason he knew why. Balloons were filled with helium, a fluid less dense than oxygen so it therefore floated lightly. He was still trying to access more of his strange flashbacks when he caught onto some of Hearth's words.

"… and then Mr. Mochet started selling them around here with his little cart. Maybe I can buy you one, if you like."

"No," Keirk objected from up ahead, "we don't have the money for that kind of stuff, and you know that Hearth." His statement caused her to pout.

"I know, but just look at how much he likes them," she whined while stamping a foot on the ground.

The words of Hearth and Keirk failed to reach his ears as his sight narrowed on a small child, who was getting his own balloon. The kid must have been around five, with curly red hair and a face so lit up it outshined his surroundings. In his hand he held the thin string to his red balloon bobbing above his head.

As much as he wanted his own, seeing the boy with his balloon made him happy just the same. He waved a green hand and the child returned the gesture with a sheepish grin.

Suddenly there was a whooshing sound whistling past his ears as a swift gust of wind thrashed through the park, stealing the red balloon out of the little boy's hand. The child looked at his empty hand in confusion, then looked up to his balloon; simply floating away, out of reach.

The green boy watched the scene unfold and, despite knowing he was too far away, reached for the escaping balloon with an outstretched hand.

His hand grabbed the end of the thin white string. His arm had extended unknowingly out in an instant.

Staring in disbelief at his own hand, he slowly retracted his arm back until it was normal. Once he was able to tear his eyes away from the hand that now seemed so alien, he saw Keirk with wide incredulous eyes and Hearth's mouth looked ready to detach completely. He handed the balloon to the bewildered boy.

The child looked up at his balloon and over to its savior. Then out of the blue the red-head grinned and hugged the green boy's leg, an action which left him speechless. As soon as it had happened the boy let go and ran over to his waiting mom, all the while beaming wildly.

"Thanks Mister!" And with that he disappeared into the crowd.

His sight lingered at the red balloon bobbing alone through the heads of people. A warm feeling was in his chest, a feeling of his sun shinning on him except it was in him, lighting whatever you could light a person's innards. Keirk ran a quick hand through his hair absentmindedly and Hearth flashed out of her stupor with wild excitement.

"That was _amazing_! Like, howd'ja do that?" She skipped over to where he stood and stared with giddy anticipation.

"I don't know." He tried reaching his arm out again and to his surprise it extended once again. He turned to face Keirk.

"This isn't normal, is it," he said. Keirk sighed and placed his thumb and forefinger on the bridge of his nose.

"No. No it isn't," he said warily while shaking his head. Hearth had stopped her anxious circling and instead cocked her head at something behind her brother.

"Hey, Mr. Mochet's waving at you."

He realized she was right when he too looked over to see the husky and mustached man waving a meaty hand while looking directly at him. He pointed at himself and the man replied by nodding and waving his hand more furiously. Hearth grinned, grabbed his green hand, and pulled him along to Mr. Mochet with her brother following as usual, with his hands in his pockets and an expression of annoyance on his face.

"Heya Mr. Mochet!"

"Oh, why hello there Little Hearth," he chuckled, "I haven't seen you here in a while. Who's your new friend here?"

"Oh he's just…" she trailed off and glanced at the boy. He wasn't human, and she had a feeling Mr. Mochet would not understand his weird situation. The silence dragged out for a moment before the green boy took the initiative and held out his hand.

"Hello. I'm me. And I hear you are Mr. Mochet?"

The large man stared questionably at the small boy, but when he did not say anything more; his huge hand grasped the miniscule green one.

"Ho yes indeed! Mr. Mochet, that be my name. But enough about me… you're one odd child, going out of your way to help a kid like that. John always does love his red balloons, would've been a shame to see one go to waste." The green boy nodded vigorously. Seeing the boy's fascination with his cart, an inspiration condensed in his head.

"What's your favorite color?"

The boy almost automatically replied 'pink' based on Hearth's earlier _experience_, but something held him back. His mind raced back to his own 'beginning'.

"Yellow. I like yellow."

The larger hand unclasped and disappeared for a moment into the mass of white lines, retreating later with one string pinched between his fingers; a yellow balloon bobbed on the end. The peddler's meaty hands reached out and summarily tied the balloon around the wrist of the small boy, who had stayed rooted to the spot.

The boy looked at the Mr. Mochet, then up at the yellow sphere tugging the string on his wrist, and then back to Mr. Mochet. A severe look of surprise and amazement lit his features. He opened his mouth but before he could say anything, the man covered it gently.

"Shhhhh. It's on the house. Consider it a 'Good-Deed-Balloon', alright?" The boy nodded mutely, his wide eyes darting back up to the balloon- no, _his_ balloon. The man's smile gave crinkles around his eyes and he patted the kid on the head. "Just keep helping people."

The green boy thanked Mr. Mochet repeatedly and was eventually dragged off by a positively happy Hearth, who then proceeded to batter him with questions, prattling about his luck. Her bother stayed stationary by the balloon cart and its owner, watching his sister giggle at the boy's complete enthrallment with his balloon. He didn't turn when he heard 's throaty chuckle from behind him.

"You sure do pick up the strange ones."

"Yep," he said with a sigh seeing the green figure pull the yellow balloon down to his height to poke the rubbery surface repeatedly, all the while a silly grin plastered to the green boy's face. "Yep. _Lucky me_."

The boy finally tore his attention from his absolutely lovely balloon to look back at Keirk. The older boy always seemed to lag behind. He stopped dead in his tracks to give the teen a chance to catch up, Hearth stopping with him.

"Comooooooooon Kerik_mire_! Stop being a lazy bum and hurry you butt over here!" She giggled with a devious smile.

"Hearth, I swear if you call me _name_ that again…. gosh darnit even Superman won't be able to save your sorry butt," he grumbled, thanking the balloon man before he headed after the two kids.

This only made her giggle harder and she stuck out her tongue, pulling the green boy along again. Honestly, the green boy did not understand the two siblings. Sometimes they got along, other times they laughed and became angry.

It was so confusing… but entertaining at the same time.

"I wonder…"

"What is it now, Hearth?" Keirk asked insouciantly from behind them.

"His name… He has to have a name, right? We have to call him something-"

"A name?" He felt his skin prickle in anticipation. A name would give his existence a temporary ownership, at least until he found out who he really was. "A name like what?"

"Well, it's got to be something simple, something that describes you and traces your personality, something that fits you. You have to be able to wear a name snuggly or it won't seem right…" she receded into thought, a look of concentration filling her petite face. They walked in silence; Hearth with her head bowed in reflection, he beside her speculating about his future title, and Keirk in the back a few paces away, again.

"That's it!" Hearth exclaimed, the sudden outburst making the green boy next to her jump. "I know the perfect thing to call you! _Sunny_!"

No one spoke.

"Well, what do you think?"

"Hearth," said her brother, "that's not a normal name. You can't go around calling the poor kid-"

"I like it," the boy interjected quietly. She turned in surprise that he would accept it and he heard Keirk groan audibly. "It's a good name. Thank you, Hearth." He turned to her smiling and she felt heat grow in her cheeks, but she ignored it. His hair looked like sunshine in the refracting light.

"You're welcome, Sunny." She smiled back and they held the contact for a bit before he looked back up.

Back up at his balloon; his bright yellow shining balloon.

Just like the sun.

* * *

**Awwwwwwww… no gruesome scenes in this one… unless you call nude gruesome. :D**

**I had originally planned to have the flashback in one chapter, but it's already become so long and taken so much time that I am breaking it into 2 parts. Next chapter will end with the notorious "Oh hell no" line we all want to hear again for no reason. So stay in tune... it'll be a while**


End file.
